Colt Anderson

49ers Announce Finalized 2025 Coaching Staff

The annual poaching of the 49ers coaching staff happened again this offseason, and San Francisco has done some hiring and shuffling to fill out the vacancies. Here’s how Kyle Shanahan‘s staff will look in 2025, based on their finalized announcement of staff updates.

Most of the changes on staff came on offense where we’ve already reported that Klay Kubiak and Mick Lombardi were promoted into roles as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, respectively. Additional promotions were granted to wide receivers coach Leonard Hankerson, who adds passing game specialist to his title, offensive line coach Chris Foerster, who exchanged the additional title of run game coordinator for assistant head coach of offense, and Andrew Hayes-Stoker, who will serve as offensive assistant/wide receivers coach after two years as defensive quality control and two years as assistant defensive backs coach. We also see title changes for assistant offensive line coach Joe Graves, who will now serve as offensive assistant/quarterbacks coach, and Jacob Webster, who will switch from defensive quality control to offensive quality control.

The defense saw fewer changes as the team made a pretty simple transition at coordinator from Nick Sorensen to a familiar face in Robert Saleh. With Saleh returning to the post, most of the position coaches remained the same, though we did already report the hiring of Ray Brown as defensive backs/cornerbacks coach. We were also already aware of the hiring of Gus Bradley to the staff in some role, but the team’s recent announcement informs us that Bradley will mirror Foerster’s role as assistant head coach of defense.

Additional updates to the defensive staff saw the hirings of Greg Scruggs as assistant defensive line coach and Jake Lynch as defensive quality control coach. Scruggs comes to San Francisco two years removed from his last job as defensive line coach at Wisconsin. Prior to that, he had one year of experience as assistant defensive line coach for the Jets in 2022 and two years of experience as defensive line coach at the University of Cincinnati. Lynch, the son of president of football operations/general manager John Lynch, joins the staff after a year at the University of Washington as a defensive graduate assistant, a role he held following the end of his playing career as a linebacker at Stanford.

On special teams, we knew that Brant Boyer had stepped in as the new special teams coordinator, replacing Brian Schneider. The recent staff announcement disclosed the rest of the special teams staff, as well, including assistant special teams coach Colt Anderson and special teams quality control coach Ronald Blair. Anderson joins the staff after spending only one year as the Titans special teams coordinator last year. Prior to that, he spent four seasons as assistant special teams coach for the Bengals. Blair was a Bill Walsh NFL Diversity Coaching Fellow working with the defensive line last year but will work on special teams in his second season with the team.

Lastly, the team announced that Patrick Hagedorn, who had started with the team as assistant to the coaching staff in 2017 and became assistant to the head coach in 2021, has been promoted to chief of staff.

With that staff, the 49ers will head into the 2025 NFL season. After an injury-riddled, disappointing 2024 campaign, Shanahan and company are sure to head into the next season with a renewed drive to get back to the Super Bowl for the third time in seven years.

Titans Hire John Fassel As ST Coordinator

John Fassel is heading to Tennessee. The Titans are hiring the long-time coach to be their special teams coordinator, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

“Bones” has been coaching in the NFL since 2005. He previously held the ST coordinator title at three stops, and he’s often been paired with elite kickers (Sebastian Janikowski/Raiders, Greg Zuerlein/Rams, Brandon Aubrey/Cowboys). During his stop in Los Angeles, he helped form the trio of Zuerlein, punter Johnny Hekker, and long snapper Jake McQuaide. When Jeff Fisher was canned during the 2016 season, Hassel briefly stepped in as the interim head coach.

He stuck with the Rams under Sean McVay‘s leadership before leaving for the Cowboys in 2020. He spent the past few years in Dallas, and ESPN’s Todd Archer notes that the organization hoped to retain Fassel despite their uncertain coaching outlook.

Instead, he’ll be taking his talents to Tennessee. Fassel will be replacing Colt Anderson, who spent one season in the role. Anderson is technically still on the staff, although it’s uncertain if he’ll be back in 2025. The Titans’ special teams unit was blamed for an early-season loss to the Bears, and the squad allowed a pair of blocked punts during the year.

Ryan Stonehouse should be back as the punter in 2025, but the rest of the team’s ST unit isn’t as certain. Veteran Nick Folk is set to hit free agency, although the kicker did express interest in returning to Tennessee for another year.

Coaching Notes: Lombardi, 49ers, Shula, Bills, Broncos, Titans, Saints, Wilkins

Mick Lombardi will resurface in San Francisco. The 49ers are hiring the former Raiders offensive coordinator, according to NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco. This marks a return trip for the second-generation NFL staffer. Lombardi worked on the 49ers’ staff from 2013-16, rising up to the quality control level during his first NFL gig. This came before Kyle Shanahan‘s arrival. Lombardi, 35, worked under Josh McDaniels in New England before being brought to Las Vegas as OC. Hours after the Raiders fired McDaniels, they canned Lombardi at the midseason point. Lombardi, who coached wide receivers and QBs in New England, does not have a specific title yet in San Francisco.

Here is the latest from the coaching ranks:

  • The Bills are not retaining Mike Shula for their 2024 staff. The veteran coach’s contract expired, per WGR 550’s Sal Capaccio, who adds the Bills will not renew the deal. Shula had served as a senior offensive assistant on the past two Buffalo staffs. Shula, 58, had previously served as OC for the Panthers and Giants. The Carolina OC years overlapped with Cam Newton‘s MVP season and the team’s Super Bowl 50 trek. Son of Don Shula, Mike has been an NFL assistant since 1988. Prior to coming to Buffalo, he was in Denver for two seasons as QBs coach under Pat Shurmur.
  • On the subject of the Broncos, they will replace defensive line coach Marcus Dixon with an in-house promotion. Denver will bump Jamar Cain up to D-line coach. A former college and high school staffer, Cain worked as a pass rush specialist last season, joining the team shortly after the Sean Payton trade.
  • The Titans have a special teams coordinator in place now. Colt Anderson is in place here. A former Eagles, Colts and Bills special-teamer in the 2010s, Anderson previously coached with Brian Callahan in Cincinnati, serving most recently as the Bengals’ assistant ST coach. The Titans also hired Scott Fuchs as assistant O-line coach and Steve Donatell as a defensive assistant. Donatell spent last season in Miami under Vic Fangio, who had worked with Steve’s father (Ed) for many years. Fuchs comes up from the college ranks, having spent 31 seasons at that level. He spent the past three years at Kansas, serving as the Jayhawks’ O-line coach.
  • The Saints promoted Jordan Traylor to assistant quarterbacks coach and have hired Keith Williams to coach wide receivers. Despite the Saints hiring Klint Kubiak as OC, they will retain a previous staffer in Traylor for this role. Traylor, 30, was a Payton hire who has been with the team five years. Williams spent the past three seasons with the Ravens, his first NFL gig.
  • Kevin Wilkins, whom the Giants fired just before the simmering Don Martindale-Brian Daboll feud boiled over, is following the former New York DC to Michigan, 247Sports’ Matt Zenitz tweets. Brothers Kevin and Drew Wilkins each worked under Martindale with the Giants and Ravens. Drew landed a job with the Patriots last month; Kevin will work as a defensive analyst at Michigan.

AFC South Notes: Texans, Colts, Anderson

The Texans were one of the NFL’s best surprises of the 2023 season, winning 10 games and making the playoffs with a rookie quarterback and head coach. DeMeco Ryans actually put together quite an impressive staff that would end up drawing lots of interest in from teams looking to fill vacant roles after the season came to an end. Luckily, though, Houston was able to beat off the suitors for two assistants.

Assistant offensive line coach Cole Popovich received interest from a few other teams, at one point interviewing for the offensive line coach job at Washington under new head coach Dan Quinn. Despite the outside interest, Popovich will remain in Houston “under a revamped contract,” per Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2.

Wilson also reported that safeties coach Stephen Adegoke was set to depart for the defensive backs coaching job at the University of Michigan. The next day, though, he issued a second report that Adegoke would instead return to Houston. Adegoke had reportedly accepted the Michigan job before finalizing a contract, so he will be able to come back for his second year with the Texans.

Here are a few other staff updates from around the AFC South:

  • Colts head coach Shane Steichen has had to do some shuffling for his 2024 staff. With the team’s decision not to retain assistant defensive backs coach Mike Mitchell, they have made the move to hire Titans defensive quality control coach Justin Hamilton in his place, according to Mike Chappell of FOX59. Indianapolis will also bring in Eagles quarterbacks coach Alex Tanney to serve as its passing game coordinator. Remaining in Philadelphia after Steichen’s departure, Tanney will now reunite with his former boss in Indianapolis.
  • The Titans have now completed the hiring of their new coordinators. Joining first-time coordinators Nick Holz on offense and Dennard Wilson on defense will be first-time special teams coordinator Colt Anderson, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. Anderson, a former undrafted defensive back, saw plenty of time on special teams over his nine-year career in the NFL. After spending the last four seasons as an assistant special teams coach for the Bengals, Anderson will follow new Titans head coach Brian Callahan to Nashville for his first coordinator position.

AFC North Notes: Garrett, Bengals, Ravens

Myles Garrett crossed a key item off his rather important offseason to-do list, meeting with Roger Goodell about a potential reinstatement. That was only a step, however. The now-polarizing Browns defensive end must now wait on the NFL to determine if he’s met reinstatement requirements, per Mark Maske of the Washington Post (on Twitter). No timetable exists on this front, but Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer expects a reinstatement soon. The expectation remains for Garrett to return to action in 2020, his fourth season, but it is not certain if he will be able to participate in all of Cleveland’s offseason program.

Here is the latest from the AFC North:

  • The Browns having hired Kevin Stefanski as head coach and added Alex Van Pelt as OC may prompt them to leave one key staff position vacant. Stefanski and Van Pelt’s experience coaching quarterbacks might move the Browns to forgo the hiring of a quarterbacks coach, Cabot writes. Stefanski and Van Pelt have 17 combined seasons coaching NFL quarterbacks. The Browns’ hire of 2019 Broncos QBs coach T.C. McCartney as an offensive assistant may further convince Stefanski the team is covered on quarterback coaches.
  • The NFL’s other Ohio team did some hiring recently, adding two coaches to Zac Taylor‘s staff. Former NFL wide receiver Troy Walters is now the Bengals‘ wideouts coach, the team announced. The team also brought in another coach with 21st-century NFL experience, hiring Colt Anderson as its assistant special teams coach. Walters played eight seasons, from 2000-07. His most notable work came for some high-powered Colts teams in the mid-aughts. Walters, who has yet to coach in the NFL, spent 2018-19 as Nebraska’s offensive coordinator. Taylor is ex-Cornhuskers quarterback and coach. Anderson spent time with the Eagles, Colts and Bills from 2010-17. This will be his first NFL coaching gig.
  • Expected to place the franchise tag on A.J. Green, the Bengals will likely accelerate negotiations with the star wideout between the tag window, per Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic (subscription required). Teams can apply tags to players from Feb. 25-March 10. Green has voiced opposition to being tagged in advance of his age-32 season and pointed to a likely holdout, though he has stopped short of saying he would not play on the $18.5MM tag. Green’s recent injury history and the Bengals’ likely reluctance to offer a highly guaranteed contract leads Dehner to predict the seven-time Pro Bowler will play 2020 on the tag.
  • Chuck Clark‘s extension agreement makes Tony Jefferson‘s Ravens departure a matter of when, not if, Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic writes (subscription required). Lost for the season in early October, Jefferson missed the bulk of Baltimore’s 12-game win streak. The Ravens releasing the three-year safety starter would save them $7MM in 2020, the final year of Jefferson’s contract. Clark will then expected to reprise his role alongside Earl Thomas next season.

Bills Activate Colt Anderson From IR

The Bills will welcome back another defender for their Week 17 matchup vs. the Dolphins. The team announced on Thursday afternoon that they had activated safety Colt Anderson from the injured reserve and released safety Trae Elston in a corresponding roster move.

Colt Anderson

Anderson, 32, last played for the Bills back in Week 4 against the Falcons. He fractured his forearm in the contest and has been recovering on IR for the majority of the season. It’s been a rough past few years for Anderson in terms of injuries. The eight-year vet missed most of last year after breaking his left arm early on in his 2016 campaign. However, he’s referred to by Bills coaches as a “core special teamer”, which should help to limit big plays in a game that has playoff implications for the franchise.

Anderson will back up safeties Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde in the defensive backfield on Sunday. The Bills enter Week 17 with the possibility of making the playoffs for the first time since 1999 with a win and some help.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/19/17

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Buffalo Bills

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

  • Signed off Broncos‘ practice squad: OL Dillon Day
  • Waived: FB Joe Kerridge

New York Giants

New York Jets

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Redskins

  • Promoted to active roster: S Fish Smithson
  • Placed on injured reserve: S Montae Nicholson

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/3/17

Today’s minor moves:

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

Tennessee Titans

East Rumors: Cowboys, Elliott, Jets, Giants

Despite some optimism about a potential court ruling on Monday, the Ezekiel Elliott saga is ongoing. If things are still in limbo by the end of business Tuesday, we still don’t know whether or not the NFL will allow the Cowboys running back to play, as Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. There will be no decision from the league on that matter until the judge makes his decision. The Cowboys are set to face the Packers on Sunday afternoon in Dallas.

Here’s more from the East divisions:

  • Jets coach Todd Bowles says he hasn’t made a decision yet on wide receiver Jalin Marshall, who is eligible to return after serving a four-game suspension (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini). There may not be a place for Marshall on the team at this time, so it is a situation to monitor. Already, the Jets have five receivers on the roster in Jeremy KerleyRobby Anderson, Jermaine Kearse, ArDarius Stewart, and Chad Hansen with Kerley handling punts and Stewart on kickoff return duty.
  • The x-rays came back negative on the ribs of Giants running back Paul Perkins and a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link) that he likely just bruised them. Perkins’ pain tolerance for pain will now dictate whether he misses time.
  • Bills head coach Sean McDermott says safety Colt Anderson will need surgery for his forearm (Twitter link via Joe Buscaglia of WKBW). Anderson has yet to see time on defense but is a regular on special teams. The injury will likely land him on IR.

Bills Place QB T.J. Yates On IR

The Bills announced that they have placed quarterback T.J. Yates on injured reserve. In other QB news, the Bills confirmed that Tyrod Taylor will be ready to go for Week 1 against the Jets. T.J. Yates (vertical)

Both Yates and Taylor suffered concussions in August, putting the team’s QB depth in serious jeopardy. The team signed Joe Webb on Monday to brace for the possibility that rookie Nathan Peterman would be left as the team’s only other healthy signal caller. Now that Taylor has been given the green light, Webb may or may not stick on the roster as the QB3. Yates will be eligible to return after eight weeks, if the Bills want to use one of their two IR-DTR spots on him.

In other news, the Bills signed safety Colt Anderson and defensive tackle Cedric Thornton. Defensive tackle Deandre Coleman has been released.